Paul Biya: Man of Slogans without Achievements!

By Tazoacha Asonganyi in Yaounde.

Paul Biya:President of Cameroon/UN photo

 Let me start by recalling that the last presidential elections held in Cameroon on October 9, 2011. Paul Biya was later declared “winner” of the election and sworn in to a new 7- year mandate on October 21, 2011. Following that, he appointed a “new” government on Dec 9, and held his first ministerial meeting on December 15, 2011. We understand that during the ministerial council meeting, he instructed his ministers to establish a road map to reflect the objectives, deadlines and needs in human resources of their various ministries! Interestingly, in his 31 December message, we are told that “we now have a roadmap, the Growth and Employment Strategy Paper which sets the objectives for this decade…” One would wonder if what the ministers have been asked to do is extract from this roadmap, or create their own new roadmaps for their own sectors.

Then it should be remembered that this was Biya’s first end-of-year message to the nation during his new 7-year mandate, coming during his 30th year at the helm of the state.  In the message, he announced that we are entering our “first phase of a ‘long march’ towards being an emergent country…” And with a straight face, he gave the example of “new Asian dragons some 30 years ago” most of who were at par with us at independence and were emerging countries when Paul Biya took the helm of power in Cameroon thirty years ago!  It is a pity that on May 20, 2010, the same man was presiding over the celebration of 50 years of independence, with 30 years under his leadership. What he want us to believe is that the old tree can suddenly bend and change direction for him to imitate the type of leadership that produced the “Asian dragons” that harnessed their resources to bring prosperity to their countries, while he watched for 30 years!

I say all this to draw attention to the anger and embarrassment of Cameroonians like me that are watching a Head of state that is insisting on hanging on to power after thirty years at the helm of state, and yet does not seem to know how to change his tried and tested methods that have failed woefully during that time. We have watched and listened to him year after year say the same thing: “in the past, government action suffered from lack of entrepreneurial approach and the administration from inactivity. We must overcome this inertia which has caused us so much harm,” “corruption is an insidious and dreadful enemy,” Bla Bla Bla!  Like in the past, he is now giving the impression that by promising a “new impetus” during his last campaign, there will be a new impetus. And he wants us to believe him, as if his harping on “rigour and moralization,” ”the new deal,” “grandes ambitions,” and others of his several empty slogans in the past caused them to come to pass, whatever they represented to him!

He tells us that the investment budget has increased. The budget might have increased, but the manner of its implementation will not change; just like his first ministerial meeting of December 15 left us with no doubt that the government might have had some cosmetic changes, but his haughty and distant attitude to the government has not changed.

There are abundant natural and human resources. Yet, harnessing natural and human resources for the development of a country depends on visionary leadership that is an example of hard work, patriotism, selflessness, pragmatism, and an unselfish magnanimity. Paul Biya has not been an incarnation of these during the last 30 years.  I doubt that he can become their incarnation during the next 7 years, to provide the “new impetus.”

When a Head of State that is just starting a new 7-year term in order to clock some 35 years at the helm of the state says that “I count on this (new) government – which I consider as a ‘government with a mission’ – to devote all its energy and competences to the implementation of these projects. I will see to that personally,” what does he expect the rest of us to think? That in the past his plethoric governments have not been “governments with a mission?” That in the past he has not been seeing to the work of the government “personally?” In this way, he has always refused to take the blame for failures of the different governments that have crowded his thirty year reign.

Again, we are told that “time has come to decide whether we want to summon all our strength to revive our economy and provide adequate living conditions for the majority of our people.” Yet, this is not reflected in his “new” government. It is still a roll call of sycophants, cronies, tribal cohorts, and the morally bankrupt. After 30 years, he is supposed to have matured in humility, integrity, wisdom combined with common sense, and a willingness to learn. Unfortunately he has still surrounded himself with personal supporters who would never question his authority.

The history of Cameroon is supposed to be mastered by its leadership. It is well known that Cameroon became a German colony in 1884, and was later divided between France and Britain in 1919 as League of Nation mandates. French Cameroon gained independence on 1st January 1960 with the name of Republic of Cameroun; English Cameroon got its independence on 1st October 1961 following a plebiscite during which they answered the question whether to gain independence by reunifying with French Cameroun or by joining Nigeria. The result of the 11 February 1961 plebiscite showed that the people of Southern Cameroons decided to gain independence by reunifying with the Republic of Cameroun. Southern Cameroons and the Republic of Cameroun therefore reunified in a Federal Union of two states with equal status, giving birth to a new country, the Federal Republic of Cameroun on 1st October 1961.

Since October 1, 1961, there have been repeated changes of name of the Federal republic of Cameroon, until we acquired the name with which French Cameroon – the Republic of Cameroon -joined the Federal Union. The declaration by Paul Biya in his Dec 31 message that “we should always remember that reunification was our nation’s first step towards its unity,” must be this “unity” around the name of the Republic of Cameroon! It has always been my opinion that those like Paul Biya who repeatedly caused the change of name of the country and the destruction of the spirit of the union of 1st October 1961, are nationalists of the Republic of Cameroun that had its independence on 1st January 1960, not patriots of the country that emerged on October 1, 1961.

However, history is not about regurgitating historical dates, names and events; it is more useful to learn the lessons of history, the story behind names, dates and events, and the vagaries of human nature. The Soviet Union and the eastern European block countries failed  in this and all collapsed after 70 years of “unity.” As Paul Biya’s celebrations in Buea approach, he should not only listen to the pressing voices of the Anglophones in this country about their disappointments with the union or his “unity,” but should remember that 1st October is both the Independence Day of the people of the former Southern Cameroons and the anniversary of the coming together of the two Cameroons in a Federal Union.

Finally, Paul Biya has no moral authority to tell us that the October 9 election went well. We all know that the election failed because he did not want it to succeed. What was the use telling the rest of us that the degree to which the election failed did not affect his “victory?” If he is taking all of us for fools, he would be making a monumental mistake because I know those of us he thinks are fools will have the last laugh!